PARRY
,
DAVID
(
1682?
-
1714
),
scholar
;
b. at
Cardigan
, son of
William
Parry
, ‘
a poor man
.’
About 1695
, when (as it would seem) at
Cardigan grammar school
(and ‘
a good Latinist
’), he was brought by
William
Gambold
(see under
Gambold
family
) to the notice of
Edward
Lhuyd
(q.v.)
, who took him on as a helper, and as companion on his travels in
Wales
,
Ireland
,
Scotland
, and
Brittany
(there, both were imprisoned as ‘spies’). On their return to
Oxford
(
April 1701
),
Parry
matriculated from
Jesus College
; in
1704
Lhuyd
strove to get him a scholarship, but though ‘
all were fond of
Parry
,’ that ‘cold’ Fellow
John
Wynne
(afterwards
bishop
, q.v.)
prevented this.
Parry
graduated in
1705
(
M.A.
1708
), and
became unpaid
under-keeper
at the
Ashmolean
, under
Lhuyd
. In
Lhuyd
's
Archaeologia
,
1707
(270-89), ‘
an Essay towards a British Etymologicon
,’ are by
Parry
. On
Lhuyd
's death,
Parry
was appointed (
19 July 1709
)
keeper
of the
Ashmolean
— again without salary, however he may have supported himself.
Hearne
(
Collectanea
, ii, 224) avers that there was no one more competent, ‘
if he would set himself to work
’; but
Hugh
Thomas
(q.v.)
describes him as ‘
capable … if he could spare time from his pots and companions; but out of the tipling [
sic
] house he cannot spare one minute even to common civility
’ (
Cambro-Briton
, ii, 369). Later on,
Hearne
confesses that things were not too good at the
Ashmolean
, excusing
Parry
because he was unpaid. A
German
visited the
Ashmolean
in
1710
, but did not see
Parry
there — ‘
the custos, always in the tavern, was too busy guttling and guzzling
’ (
Mallet
,
Hist. of the University of Oxford
, iii, 22).
Parry
d. in
Dec. 1714
—
8 Dec.
according to
Richard
Ellis
(below),
10 Dec.
according to
Hearne
(op. cit., v 2), who added: ‘
being a perfect sot he shortened his days, being just turned of thirty
.’
Foster
gives his academic career correctly, but errs (wherein he is followed by
W. Wales Hist. Records
, i, 253; iii, 229) in identifying him with another
David
Parry
,
vicar
of
Nolton
and
Bridell, Pembs.
, whose will was proved in
1720
.
Bibliography:
-
Foster
,
Alumni Oxonienses
;
-
R. T. Gunther
,
Life and letters of Edward Lhwyd second
Keeper of the Musaeum Ashmoleanum
(indexed);
-
Hearne
,
Collectanea anglo-poetica or, a
Bibliographical and descriptive catalogue of a portion of a
collection of early English poetry, with occasional
extracts and remarks biographical and critical
,
Manchester, 1860-83
, ii, iii, v (indexed);
-
Richard Ellis
in
The Transactions of the Honourable Society
of Cymmrodorion
,
1906-7.
Author:
Emeritus Professor Robert Thomas Jenkins, C.B.E., D.Litt., Ll.D.,
F.S.A., (1881-1969), Bangor
